


The Man in the Bottle

by Ceares



Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Community: trope_bingo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-02 13:51:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6568840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceares/pseuds/Ceares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony looked around the morgue while they waited for the medical examiner to come in. "This wasn't exactly how I planned to spend spring break you know."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Man in the Bottle

**Author's Note:**

> This has been waiting to be finished for years and I figured I'd better do the do before the end of May. Thanks to Felicia as always for looking this over. 
> 
> Trigger Warnings: Mention of murder made to look like a suicide. Mention of drugging and non-consensual sex and videotaping. All of these are brief, non explicit details. Anything else that needs to be warned for, please give me a shout. 
> 
> Timeline for this is @ 2003. I based the ages on the rough canon we've been given in regards to the character's ages. It's canon that Tony was still going to Spring Break into his 30's. All police and NCIS procedures are fictional.

Tony heard the scream from down the hall. He cursed under his breath even as he grabbed his gun and badge from under the pillow -- force of habit even on vacation. The crowd gathering in the hall parted at the flash of his badge. Quite a few of them scattered. He frowned when he recognized the room number.

He knocked on the door. "Kelly? Maddie?" The lack of response made him pound harder and the door was snatched open. Beyond the door, he could see a body draped across the bed and a limp hand dangling off the side.

A half screamed "Oh my God!" came from someone in the remaining crowd and Tony turned and glared at them. He slid his gun back into the holster and stepped into the room, pushing the door closed enough so that the gaping spectators could no longer see in. Their roommate who he'd met briefly was spread out on the bed. Even from where he was, Tony could see she was dead. It looked like both rigor and pallor had already set in. Kelly was on the phone, talking to the police. Maddie stood with a hand over her mouth. Both girls were visibly shaken. 

"Are either of you hurt?"

Kelly put the phone down and shook her head. "Not yet."

"What do you mean?"

Maddie wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "She means her dad is going to kill us!"

 

&&&&&&&&&&

 

Tony met Kelly and Maddie in a bar the first night he got to Panama City. They were with their roommate and a few other girls and ordered drinks for his table. Somehow he wound up sitting with them. Kelly was pretty but there was something else about her that attracted him immediately and Tony had to admit if she'd been a few years older, or he'd been a few younger (though that thought made him wince), he might definitely be in trouble. As it was he couldn't quite shake the protective urge that developed and he wound up spending his second day of spring break guiding the girls around, and later taking them to a movie. The last thing he expected was to spend the night down at the police station with them.

A few hours into the exhaustive interview a furious silver haired man stormed into the station, demanding to see his daughter.

Tony stood up, offering his hand. "Hi, you must be Mr. Gibbs?"

He wasn't prepared for the intensity of the blue-eyed gaze that turned towards him. Tony actually felt his stomach flip over and all he could think was 'fuck'.

"It's _Agent_ Gibbs, and who the hell are you?"

"I'm Tony. DiNozzo, I'm sort of a friend of your daughter's." Tony gave him his very 'best' smile. The one passed down through generations of DiNozzo men. The one that got him out of and _into_ more shit in life than anything else. 

Gibbs ignored his hand and glared harder. "A friend?"

Tony dropped his hand and shrugged, trying not to feel hurt. He'd been treated much ruder and Gibbs had some cause, still, most people didn't resist the smile. 

"Well, you know, in the spring break kind of way. A few drinks and everybody is friends."

"Kelly is nineteen." The quiet pronouncement through gritted teeth might as well have been a shout.

Shit! "She told me she was twenty-two." Tony forced out another smile -- never let 'em see you sweat. He was pissed at himself for not catching it. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't done the same thing for years. Not that he was about to let Gibbs know that.

"You believe everything you're told, Mr. Dinozzo?"

Tony gritted his teeth. "It's _Detective_ Dinozzo, and I don't usually run someone through AFIS before I let them buy me a drink, no."

"Well, maybe you should start. _Detective_."

It was spring break. Kids were supposed to break the rules but if it was his daughter, hanging out with a guy like Tony, he'd be pissed too. No way he'd believe it was innocent. The thing was, he really, really did not want Gibbs pissed at him. And not just because he could probably hide Tony's body where it would never be found.

Gibbs went off to find Kelly and Maddie and Tony figured he'd have better luck getting information that Tony had. There was really no reason for him to stick around but he was reluctant to leave. His night had been blown anyway, what was a little bit longer? He could at least make sure that Kelly and Maddie had been exaggerating about Gibbs killing them. 

He sat there another thirty minutes or so before Kelly peeped around the corner. She looked miserable. Maddie followed her, cell phone to her ear, talking in hurried whispers to someone. She went and stood in a little niche off the main waiting area and continued talking.

Tony stood up and impulsively gave Kelly a hug. "You okay?"

She nodded against his chest. "Tony, I'm so sorry about the age thing. My dad was furious. I think I'm grounded forever. "

Tony pulled back so he could see her face. "Hey, it's okay, kid. If that's the worst thing you ever do, you'll be lucky."

"I just. You were really nice to us. And a perfect gentleman."

Tony flicked her on the nose lightly. "Don't go spreading that around."

Kelly laughed. "But my dad is treating you like...well like he treats everyone really."

"Well, he is a charmer." He grinned and winked at her.

She laughed again and Tony was glad. She and Maddie were nice kids and it sucked they had to deal with any of this.

"Sorry. He wasn't always such a..."

"Bastard?"

Kelly grimaced. "Yeah. Then my mom died, and there were stepmoms one, two and three."

Tony widened his eyes. "They all died?"

"No such luck, Dinozzo."

Tony jumped, and turned around to glare at Gibbs. "Am I gonna have to bell you or what?"

That earned him a half grin that he refused to admit, might possibly have been the sexiest thing he'd seen in a while. "You think you can?"

Tony’s smile was the second best DiNozzo smile, this time, the one that had gotten Senior quite a few ex-wives of his own and Tony more than a few interesting nights. "Might be interesting to try."

Gibbs cocked a brow and opened his mouth but before he could say anything else,  
Maddie hung up the phone and walked over to them. Tony noted the way she leaned into Gibbs' side, receiving a quick hug. Looking at them, you'd be hard pressed to say they weren't father and daughter as well. 

Gibbs slipped his other arm around Kelly. "Come on, we need to stop by the hotel to get your things. I'm taking you and Maddie to stay with a friend."

The careful flatness of his tone clued Tony in. He looked at him sharply. "Not a suicide then?"

Gibbs shook his head. 

Kelly looked between the two of them. "Daddy what's going on? Is there something hinky about what happened to Julie?"

"You've been spending too much time with Abs. And yeah, there's something 'hinky' about it."

"What are you going to do?" Both she and Maddie were staring at him intently.

Tony thought it was telling that Kelly never doubted Gibbs would do _something_.

"I'm taking over the case. She was a Navy dependent so that gives NCIS jurisdiction."  
The love and respect between the two of them was obvious, and Tony stifled a kick of envy. He didn't think he'd ever had that with his father but certainly not by the time he was nineteen. Kelly smiled at her father equal parts proud and relieved. She obviously believed her father could handle anything. Looking at him, Tony thought he might be able to believe it too.

They were a few steps away when Gibbs looked over his shoulder. "You coming, DiNozzo?" 

Tony had been following nothing but impulse so far and he let that lead his feet as he quickly caught up to them. 

 

&&&&&&&&&&

 

The girl's room had already been taped off as a crime scene so they stopped by the closest Walmart and picked up essentials. They drove about thirty minutes out of the city before pulling up in front of a two-story cottage. Tony waited in the car, stifling his curiosity about the tall, blond man that came out onto the front porch, meriting a squealed "Uncle Stan!" and a hug from Kelly. 

Gibbs got out and spoke with him a few moments and the two men shook hands solemnly. He hugged Kelly and Maddie again before he got back in the car. They waved at Tony as Gibbs headed back down the drive. He glanced over at Gibbs but the other man was staring grimly ahead and frankly, Tony shelved his usual banter for holding onto the door handle and praying as Gibbs hit the accelerator.

They went back to the police station after they dropped the girls off. Turned out when Gibbs said 'I'm taking over the investigation' he hadn't actually gotten the okay on that. There was a lot of yelling in person and over the phone -- apparently it might be NCIS jurisdiction but it wasn't _Gibbs'_ who did not represent the 'whole of NCIS' as his director told him loud enough for everyone in the Captain's office to hear before giving him permission to handle it. Which, Tony thought, kind of contradicted everything she'd just said. 

Frankly the officer in charge looked relieved to pass the case on. Dead kids during spring break came with all kinds of publicity headaches. As if in agreement, the Captain clapped Gibbs on the shoulder. 

"Have at it, Agent Gibbs. Anything you need, let us know." 

 

&&&&&&&&&&

 

Tony looked around the morgue while they waited for the medical examiner to come in. "This wasn't exactly how I planned to spend spring break you know."

The mildness in the ice blue eyes turned toward him didn’t hide the fact that Gibbs was judging him. "Aren't you a little old for spring break?"

Tony frowned and pouted. "I'm still the fastest beer bonger on the Eastern seaboard."

That earned him a judgy squint. "Just stay away from the pong till this case is over."

"Bong, not pong, Gibbs. You...never mind." He shook his head and glanced back down at Julie's body, any sense of levity gone in an instant. "Believe me, I'm staying stone cold sober for this."

 

Dr. Leon wasn’t nearly as impressed with Gibbs as Tony was. "Look, Agent Gibbs. Your case isn't the only one on my table in the last half hour even. An OD during spring break is not uncommon." 

"No, but someone going to the trouble to make it look like a suicide, is." 

"Fine, but even if I move it to top priority, it's still going to take at least a week for the results to come in." The M.E,'s resentment was palpable until Gibbs mentioned someone called Ducky. Then he was as helpful as possible, but still, in a week spring break would be over and maybe so would any real chance of catching Julie's killer.

 

Ducky, it turned out was the NCIS medical examiner and he, along with the incongruously bouncy and smiling Goth girl Tony was currently on a video conference with, were a part of Gibbs' team, or at least at his beck and call enough to get results back in hours instead of days. 

"Cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest. Abby found high levels of GHB in the blood along with a blood alcohol level way over the limit. From what we can tell, the GHB was mixed in with the drinks so she may or may not have been aware she was consuming it." 

According to Kelly and Maddie, Julie had mostly gone clubbing on her own, having a couple of favorite places. Tony took her picture around to the club where he'd met Kelly and Maddie and the other places on the list. Getting information from partying students was pretty much a nightmare. Tony's extensive spring break experience was actually a benefit. He could tell the varying levels of intoxication at a glance. A couple of people were sober enough and observant enough to identify Julie from her picture. 

Twin 1 took the picture and showed it to Twin 2, who nodded. "Yeah, she was hanging out with that GGW guy.' 

"GGW?"

Twin 1 shrugged. "Yeah, some Girls Gone Wild wannabe."

Twin 2 nodded, “he hit up half the girls here to be in one of his movies." She air-quoted movies and shook her head. "Total creep." 

The club had crappy surveillance cameras but there was enough footage to look through that they were bound to get something. The twins were happy to go through them with Tony. He had identically gorgeous, nubile girls pressed tightly against each side and Tony knew it was bad when one look from sharp blue eyes trumped twins. 

They hit the jackpot in of all things, a video of a beer bonging. Tony couldn't help be slightly wistful at the sight. In the background, Julie was talking to several people, and even on camera, she seemed out of it. The twins identified the guy on her left as the 'sleazoid' and a few seconds later on the video, Julie, and the guy got up and headed away from the table together. Once they pointed him out, Tony said his most charming goodbye, buying them both drinks, after carding them -- he'd learned his lessons -- and pleading duty to avoid taking their number or giving his. 

Abby ran the image and came up with a name, various aliases and a nice, long petty crime record. She worked some kind of magic that Gibbs seemed to take in stride and got them the name of the hotel this guy, Marks, was staying at, as well as a room number. 

 

Tony nodded at the equipment bag Gibbs carried, stamped with big, white, NCIS letters. "You know this isn't going to exactly hold up in court."

"Look, I want this dirtbag, Dinozzo, and right now I'm not real particular how I get him."

"You're the boss." He nodded at the key card lock on the door. "I think this one is mine, though." He stripped off his shirt and handed it to Gibbs, grinning as the only change in expression was a raised eyebrow. It went higher when he took off his pants and shoes.

"Not that the view isn't nice, but..."

"Hold that thought, and these." He handed over the rest of his clothes, grabbed a towel from the housekeeping cart, wrapping it around his waist. Then he shoved Gibbs into the stairwell and knocked on the half open door. "The maid opened the door cautiously and Tony put on his best 'I'm dumb but cute' smile.

"I kind of locked myself out of my room. I hate to ask but do you think you could let me in?"

"We're really not supposed to."

"Please? My key is right in the room; nobody will even know. Don't make me walk down to the front desk like this. " He gestured at the towel. He shoved down the feeling of guilt when she smiled and rolled her eyes, unlocking the door with her master key.

He waited until she had gone back into the room she was cleaning before gesturing for Gibbs, who slipped into the door behind him.

"Nice work. "

He shrugged. "I've stayed at enough hotels in my life to know all the tricks. My dad actually left me alone in one for three days when I was twelve. He didn't remember until he got the room service bill." Tony grinned, waiting for the usual laugh or expression of disbelief. Instead, Gibbs just stared at him, knowing expression digging into places Tony didn't want to go. He looked away. "Okay, bad guy."

They weren't expecting to find their suspect dead on the floor, lying in a pool of blood. There were clear signs of a struggle and instinct kicked in. Tony took the bag Gibbs handed him, grabbing the camera and his own pair of gloves and an NCIS hat out. He fumbled for a moment before he got the hang of using the camera and then went to work.

They worked the crime scene with a harmony Tony had rarely experienced and then only with someone he'd worked with for years. Still he couldn't stifle a moment of insecurity. "Bet you're missing your team."

Gibbs shrugged and didn't bother to turn around. "You'll do."

"Should I be herding sheep or something?"

That did get him a look, though a blank one. "Bah Ram Ewe? That'll do, pig? Babe?" Still no recognition. "Oh come on, Gibbs. Don't tell me you deprived Kelly of one of the classic children's movies." Tony shook his head. "I'm gonna have to pick up your slack I see."

Gibbs stopped again and cast him a hard look. "Stay away from my daughter, DiNozzo."

"Hey, Kelly's a nice kid but don't worry. She's not the Gibbs I'm interested in."

The room was a smorgasbord of evidence into what Marks was up to. By the time the homicide guys got there, they’d bagged photos of various girls in stages of undress. Most of them didn’t look like they were taking the picture voluntarily. They’d also found a laptop with videos. Plus, the dirtbag, and Tony thought Gibbs had it just right, had notes with names and dates. The name Smithson came up over and over, and they pulled prints off the laptop and a glass that belonged to a Peter Smithson, who had a nice long presence in AFIS including possession and sexual assault. The desk clerk corroborated their findings by providing a clear description of Marks and the guy he checked in with, that fit Smithson, then verified it when they came up with a photo.

The APB had Smithson picked up by the local LEOS within a couple of hours, and Gibbs took control of the interrogation. Tony watched Gibbs slam his folder down on the table and stand up, leaning over the suspect, watched Smithson spill everything under the force of that glare, felt his own stomach doing loopty loops and thought “oh” and thought “who the hell fell in love on spring break?” Only him.

 

They had Smithson on blackmail, reckless endangerment, manslaughter for Julie's death, though he swore up and down that was Marks, rape, pandering, and in at least one case, child pornography as well as a whole host of other charges, but they couldn't get him on Marks’ murder, unfortunately.

So they went back to the drawing board, or in their case, the security footage. The hotel's surveillance tapes, unlike the clubs, were clear and in color and covered doors and halls from multiple angles. There was also hours and hours of footage. Since it was spring break, there was a lot of coming and going but even with the clear video, it was nearly impossible to tell to and from which rooms. It didn't take long for Tony to get a headache.

He had just leaned back and rubbed a hand over his eyes when the door opened and Gibbs returned from his coffee run. The man, Tony had found out, loved coffee with a love bordering on the obsessive. Tony was a little embarrassed at the jolt of adrenaline he got just from Gibb's return. He actually didn't need the giant cup of coffee Gibbs handed him. Which was a good thing, since it tasted like hot mud. He grimaced and sat the cup down, pushing it towards Gibbs, who shrugged and pulled it over. 

"I thought squad room coffee was bad." 

Gibbs nodded at the screen. "Any luck?"

Tony shook his head. "Even I'm tired of looking at drunken, half-dressed co-eds. Something I never thought I'd say." 

He flinched, startled when Gibbs slapped him lightly on the back of the head with an open palm. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Focus, DiNozzo."

He rubbed the back of his head and glared at the other man. "Bad touch, Gibbs." The look he got in returned had him reminding himself he was way too old and too experienced to blush. Thirty minutes later, he was almost wishing for Gibbs to slap him again, when he saw it. A woman came running down the hall, crying, blouse ripped and bloody. "Shit!" He rewound a couple of times to make sure. "Gibbs!"

After everything, wrap up was surprisingly easy. They tracked her on the cameras into the parking lot and got a nice, clear look at her license plate. Unlike most of the perps he dealt with, Selina Worthington was almost happy to see them. She didn't run, call a lawyer or deny anything. Watching Gibbs gently question her, so completely different from Smithson, was just another nail in Tony's coffin. 

She had gone to see Marks because her daughter had tried to kill herself and the whole story came out. She just wanted the pictures back, she hadn't wanted to involve the police or her husband. Marks not surprisingly had seen another victim in the making, offering to exchange her daughter for her. They'd argued, he grabbed her and tried to force the issue and she hit him, hard enough that he fell back and hit his head on the table edge. She’d grabbed the pictures and ran. Frankly, looking at Gibbs’ face as she talked, Tony thought Marks had gotten off easy.

 

Gibbs was talking intently to Stan while Tony filled Kelly and Maddie in on as much as he could. "He really takes over doesn't he?" he couldn't keep the admiration out of his voice.

Kelly shrugged but Tony could see that pride peeking out again. "Dad usually gets what he wants. He'd probably be director of NCIS by now if he didn't loathe politics with the white-hot fire of a thousand suns."

All three of them watched the two men in silence for a moment and then Kelly sighed, shaking her head. "You know; I've had boyfriends that were terrified of my dad. I've had boyfriends that thought he was the greatest thing since Batman, but I've never had one fall for him before."

Tony grimaced. "Kelly..."

She held up a hand. “Don’t say you aren't. If someone was looking at me the way you're looking at him, I'd be expecting them on one knee." She flushed when she realized what she'd said, but held firm.

"Actually, I was going to say, I'm not your boyfriend."

"Oh, good. Then I won't need therapy my _entire_ life."

They looked at each other a moment and then they both laughed. Maddie shook her head at both of them. “You’re both crazy and I’m staying out of it.”

Tony smiled at Kelly. "So you don't mind?"

She looked at him shrewdly. "Would it matter if I did?"

"Your dad adores you. He'd never do anything that made you truly unhappy."

Kelly glanced back across the room. "No, not intentionally, but he... Look, Leroy Jethro Gibbs is one of the best men you're ever going to meet, and I'm not saying that because he's my father. When my mom died he wasn't there and he blames himself. He keeps trying to replace her, for himself and for me and every time it doesn't work, he locks himself down further. The job, this thing he does every day, it's just the topper. You know those ships in a bottle?"

"Yeah, the ones nobody can figure out?"

She nodded."That's my dad. They bend to get in there, but you break the bottle to get them out. In fifteen years nobody's been able to do that. The way he looks back at you, maybe you can.

He should be back-peddling, running in the opposite direction about now. Should be scared a hell. Ask any of his many exes and they'd be willing to bet money on it, but this time, running was the last thing on his mind.

Maddie nudged him. “Plus, you’re not a redhead.”

He frowned. “I...have no idea what that means.”

Maddie and Kelly were laughing too hard to answer him.

 

They dropped the girls off at the hotel and went back to the police station to finish up the paperwork. Two perps meant double the time but they had done good work, plus it was more time with Gibbs, so for once, Tony wasn’t complaining. He did insist on running out to get them some decent coffee, though.

Tony’s mind went back to Mrs. Worthington and he was quiet a moment as they got onto the elevator, heading out. "A good lawyer will make sure she doesn't do any time."

Gibbs shrugged. "Maybe. They’re gonna want to keep all this under wraps. I hate lawyers but I know a couple of sharks that’ll be happy to see she doesn’t get shoved under with the rest of it.” 

He looked over at Tony who knew he was staring and could only hope he didn’t _actually_ have hearts floating from his eyes.

“We finished up in time for you to still enjoy a couple of days of your spring break."

Tony cleared his throat. "Yeah. Want to go get a drink?"

Gibbs eyed him for a moment. "Where?"

"There's a pretty decent bar..."

Gibbs shook his head. "Not my style."

Tony swallowed and tried to appear casual. He couldn’t tell exactly what Gibbs was saying no to. He shrugged. "Okay. The hotel bar should still be open."

That earned him a grunt.

One more try. "Or, we could order some beers from room service."

He was suddenly the full focus of blue eyes and there was that half grin again, this time, full of all kinds of promises. Tony stifled a shiver.

 

Tony took a sip of his beer and leaned closer to Gibbs. "So trade secret. Everybody’s got something to get it out of their head. What's yours?"

Gibbs held up his glass. "Bourbon, basement, boat. How about you?"

He shrugged. "Movies mostly. Sometimes, if it's too bad, I go out, mingle with people who can't even imagine some of the stuff that goes on out there. Drink." He waved a hand between the two of them. "This."

"This?"

He sat his bottle down on the coffee table, and reached over, taking Gibbs glass, setting it next to his, then leaned in, mouth just brushing Gibb's. "This." He gave him a moment to pull away, to say no, before leaning in again, Gibbs reached up, strong hands cupping Tony's face and he took control of the kiss, mouth meeting Tony's with a hunger that only spurred Tony's.

They lost themselves in each other, letting the events of the last couple of days fade under demanding hands and eager mouths. It was just as good as Tony thought it was going to be, and he had a feeling he'd remember this  
for a long time to come.

 

Memories seemed all Gibbs planned on Tony having. He headed back to the room he was sharing with Kelly and Maddie for the night. When they met for breakfast the next morning, the offer he made was not the one Tony was hoping for.

Tony looked at him incredulously. "Are you offering me a job?"

"Thinking about it."

"I don't suppose this is included?" He gestured between the two of them.

Gibbs shook his head. "Rule number twelve."

Tony leaned across the table. "What if I said I'll take us over the job?"

"Us is not on the table, DiNozzo."

He leaned back, expression challenging. "Yeah? I wouldn't have taken you for a coward, Jethro."

Gibbs shrugged. "Not scared, just realistic. We go back to the real world and go our separate ways, or you come work for me. Either way, this isn't some fairy tale romance."

Tony swallowed everything he wanted to say and shrugged. "You're the boss." One thing Gibbs was going to learn about Tony was that he was a bulldog when it came to something he wanted, and he wanted Leroy Jethro Gibbs more than pretty much anything. He wondered if he should wait until they were on the plane to tell him that Kelly had already invited him for dinner on Saturday.


End file.
